Temples are a Beacon

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Temples are more than stone and mortar. They're filled with faith and fasting. They're built of trials and testimonies. They're sanctified by sacrifice and service.

In the early 1960s, Tihi and Tararaina Mou Tham and their children joined the church when missionaries came to their island, located about 100 miles south of Tahiti. At that time the nearest temple to the Mou Tham family was the Hamilton New Zealand Temple, more than 2,500 miles to the southwest accessible only by expensive airplane travel.

The large Mou Tham family, which eked out a meager living on a small plantation had no money for are airplane fare, nor was there any opportunity for employment on their Pacific island. So Brother Mou Tham and this son Gerard made the difficult decision to join another son who was working in the nickel mines of New Caledonia 3,000 miles to the west.

After four years of back-breaking labor, Brother Mou Tham and his sons has saved enough money to take the family to the New Zealand Temple. They were sealed for time and eternity. An indescribable and joyful experience.

Those who understand the eternal blessings which come from the temple know that no sacrifice is to great, no price is too heavy, no struggle too difficult, in order to receive those blessings. As you and I go through the holy houses of God, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation.

In this sacred sanctuary, we will find peace. We will be renewed and fortified. May we make whatever sacrifices are necessary to attend the temple, to have the spirit of the temple in our hearts and in our homes.